GE Lighting finds buyer for EMEA operations

GE has taken a big step in unloading its lighting businesses, reaching an agreement to sell GE Lighting's Budapest-based European, Middle East, and Africa operations (GE calls it EMEAT for Europe, Middle East, Africa and Turkey), plus GE's Global Automotive Lighting group, to a company controlled by the former president of GE Hungary. The entire workforce of those units — over 4000 people in total — will transfer to the new entity, GE told LEDs Magazine, while the new owner posted a comment saying he will eventually drop the GE company name and replace it with Tungsram, which was the name of the former state-owned Hungarian lighting and electronics company that GE bought in 1990.